City takes 1st steps with new ordinance

A number of downtown-area structures were posted Tuesday, notifying interested parties that a municipal officers has found that the buildings are unsafe, and therefore public nuisances subject to demolition.

It is the first such action under a new ordinance adopted earlier this year by the Andalusia City Council. The accompanying public notices appear in today’s print edition of the newspaper, as also required by the ordinance.

Among the parcels identified as unsafe is Andalusia’s iconic Timmerman Building, also known as the First National Bank Building, on the Court Square.

The street addresses of the first seven parcels identified are:

• 201 S. Three Notch St.

• 222 Crescent St.

• 220 Crescent St.

• A lot on S. Cotton St. adjoining the train station.

• 254 Historic Central St.

• 233 S. Cotton St.

• 101 S. Cotton St. (Timmerman Building, shown above)

The 23-page ordinance, approved in September, sets out very specific setps for abatement proceedings.

Director of Development Andy Wiggins said Tuesday the city officers have notified property owners of the findings, and given them a specified period of time to submit plans for repairs.

Wiggins said if a plan is not presented, the property is posted as a public way of notifying anyone with a vested interest in the property of the city’s findings.

After 30 days, the abatement process calls for the city council to hold a hearing and take action, which could be demolition or repairs. Property owners have 20 days to appeal those decisions.

The ordinance very specifically defines dangerous buildings to include:

• Those whose interior walls or other vertical structure members list, lean or buckle to such an extent that a plumb line passing through the center of gravity falls outside of the middle third of its base.

• Those which show 33 percent or more of damage or deterioration of one of its supporting members, or 50 percent of damage or deterioration of the non-supporting enclosing or outside walls or covering.

It also defines dangerous buildings as those that have been damaged, are unfit for human habitation, contain unsafe equipment, or are an attractive nuisance to children who might play in or on them, among other conditions.